Mercato Metropolitano in Elephant and Castle is a vibrant and eclectic food market that has quickly become a favourite spot for both locals and tourists. This bustling venue offers an impressive variety of food stalls, providing cuisines from all around the world. Choose Italian pasta to Japanese sushi, Argentinian empanadas to Ethiopian injera, the diversity of options ensures that every palate is catered for.
The relaxed and lively atmosphere at Mercato Metropolitano makes it an ideal spot for socialising, whether you’re hanging out with friends or on a casual date. The market features plenty of communal seating areas, making it easy to find a spot to sit, chat, and enjoy your food. Its zone one location in Elephant and Castle makes it easily accessible from all parts of London, which also means it’s a nice and convenient meeting place for friends travelling from different areas of the city.
Mercato Metropolitano also emphasises sustainability, with many vendors using locally sourced and organic ingredients. The venue hosts various community events and workshops focused on environmental awareness and sustainable living, further enhancing its community spirit.
While some stalls can be on the pricier side, numerous options offer delicious dishes without breaking the bank. We’ve done the leg work for you, so without further ado, here are five recommended spots where you can enjoy a meal for £10 or less!
Tandoori Tadkaa
Warm up your taste buds with the comforting tastes of Tandoori Tadkaa! The lovely team are here to bring the best of Indian street food to your plate, with authentic and traditional dishes made from recipes and spices from the heart of India.
They serve lunch bowls for just £8 from Monday to Friday, and the curries on offer change every day. Options often include butter chicken, tikka masala, lamb rogan josh, paneer makhani or chickpea. All are served with cumin rice, chickpea chaat salad, poppadoms and mango chutney.
But if you visit in the evening or at the weekend, go for one of their naan wraps for just £10! Choose a juicy, tender, chicken or paneer tikka, both served with spicy hummus, tamarind chutney, mint yoghurt and crispy, fried onions. Everything is made from scratch, blending into a true symphony of flavours!
Mazavaroo Club
Mauritian food can often be underrepresented in London, but if you are looking to experience some new tastes and textures, then this is the place to go!
Mazavaroo’s menu artfully blends ingredients into mouthwatering Mauritian and Mauritian-influenced dishes, including curries, dumplings, and more. Led by husband and wife duo Andy and Sophie, this family-run kitchen offers a delicious array of homemade Mauritian dishes that won’t break the bank.
For just £9, indulge in their Bol Renversé with your choice of tofu or chicken – a spectacular Sino-Mauritian dish that translates to ‘spilled bowl.’ Imagine a dome of steamed rice layered with tender chicken, sliced pork sausage, crunchy choi sum, pickled cucumber, and crispy shallots, all crowned with a fried egg boasting a perfectly golden yolk.
They also have a delicious ‘Cari Gros Pois’ – butterbean, tomato and coriander curry with two paratha flatbreads. Don’t forget to ask for extra Mazavaroo chilli sauce, their in-house fiery creation that adds a perfect kick to your meal.
Ramen Impossible
When it’s one of the highest-rated ramen spots in the world, you know it’s worth a visit. Although it’s not a hard sell for them, everything on their menu is actually fully vegan! You wouldn’t know until you studied the menu carefully – which we love, as they aren’t capitalising on the vegan hype, instead just serving good food that so happens to be vegan.
Although their dishes might be seen as slightly unconventional, we love this innovative menu full of exciting dishes, such as katsu-loaded fries and their signature impossible bowls.
You can grab their ‘Amazemen’, their classic soupless noodles tossed with their secret impossible sauce (with over 20 unique ingredients!) and garnished with rocket, sweetcorn, fried onions and a katsu chick’n tenders. There are a few variations too, so be sure to ask about their garlic, spicy or truffle signature dishes.
Pizza Napoletana
Soft pillowy dough, fresh marinara and the perfect crust, this authentic Neapolitan pizza is the perfect stop in Mercato. Made in minutes, and served piping hot, exactly how it should be!
Now this menu can start to get a little expensive towards the bottom, with their tartufella with mushrooms and truffles as high as £18, but they have three excellent classics that fall under our £10 budget.
Choose their marinara for just £7.90 (and as low as £5 if you visit 12pm-5pm!), their margherita for £9.90, and the cosacca with parmesan, pecorino, basil and olive oil for £8.90. For a full-sized, excellent quality pizza, we think this is a complete bargain no matter where it is!
Dub Pan
Modern Jamaican food in London! Their spicy-sweet charcoal grilled jerk chicken is marinated for over 24 hours and cooked over carefully selected wood chips to achieve that warm and smoky jerk drum that you are looking for.
They have a few sites around London, including Tooting Market, Box Park, various pop-ups and, of course, here in Mercato Metropolitano. If you visit for drinks, make sure you order one of their island cocktails, including the rum punch, mai tai or our personal favourite, the ting ray with white rum, grapefruit soda and blue cacao.
Their huge wraps are incredible value for money, and we promise you will be full and satisfied after one of these bad boys. Choose between charcoal jerk chicken, vegan chickpea curry or Jamaican curried goat. Their JC wrap is stuffed with juicy chicken thigh, salad, coleslaw and sauces, and comes in at just £10.50 (slightly over budget, but you can’t argue with these portion sizes).
Know some delicious, affordable restaurants that you want to share? Make a Hawkker List of your favourite spots and help others find great food on the cheap!
You can also find the above spots, and many more, on our own regularly-updated list of cheap eats in London.
